Paul K

9.3

Instead of dry January, I’m doing 10 year old January. It’s more fun. This is great. Checking in after a couple years and it’s progressing nicely. Still tight in the nose but opens up after 3 hours. — 5 months ago

"Odedi"

9.3

Moone Tsai Black List XXXIV Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Napa Valley, California

It is time for my #FridayCabernetfix.

Deep inky in color with a short neon red rim.

Full bodied and elegant with medium acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with black currants, plums, cooked cherries, spices, cedar, licorice, light vanilla, tobacco, espresso, light earth, dark chocolates, herbs and peppercorn.

Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy cherries.

This 4 year old Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley is still very young, but already drinking beautifully. Complex and interesting.

A different kind of Napa Cabernet. Fruit forward, but not 'in your face' kind of wine. Elegant and restrained.

I gave it 3 hours in the decanter, but it might not been enough. The high alcohol is nicely integrated already.

Will continue to age nicely in the next 20 years. Would be nice to revisit it in 7 years and see how it evolves. Has good potential to become a 94+ point wine.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes were aged in (65% new) French Oak barrels for 18 months. A tiny production of only 5 barrels.

15.4% alcohol by volume.

93 points.

$330. — a year ago

Steve Belmonte

9.3

Took a while to settle. A black berry aftertaste. Very nice vino — 5 years ago

Mary C

9.5

For old man’s celebration — 6 years ago

Stephen Pierron

10

50%Cabernet Sauvignon& 50%Merlot ..... doesn't get any better than this. Favorite Blacklist by Moone Tsai! 😃🍷.... stay safe and drink good wine my Delectable friends. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.3

It was my first time trying Moone-Tsai wines aside from their widely distributed Napa Valley Cab, so some of these were totally brand new to me. Melka is the winemaker.

Anytime I see Ritchie vineyard, I perk up. I really enjoy the fruit coming from that vineyard and this was no different. Bright and gold in the glass showing aromatics of banana bread pudding, powdered lemon bar, and honeyed tropical fruits. Vibrant acidity at this age with some classical Ritchie nuttiness alongside lemon cream and honeysuckle. Really good. — 6 years ago

"Odedi"

9.2

It's time for #MerlotThursday. Here's a delicious one from Napa.

Dark ruby in color with a wide reddish rim.

Fruity nose of blueberries, black plums, cherries, wood, cloves, vanilla, spices, espresso, dark chocolates, peppercorn, dust and graphites.

Full bodied with medium plus acidity and long legs.

Dry on the palate with plums, cherries, sweet raspberries, tobacco, peppercorn, cedar, leather, vanilla, earth, licorice, spices, metals, chocolates, dark roast coffee and light vegetables.

Long finish with firm tannins and tangy raspberries.

This is a great Merlot from Napa Valley. Showing nice complexity with a nice mouthfeel. Rich and extracted.

Needs an hour to open up properly and show the tannins. After 3 hours of airtime, black licorice notes come in, which was a nice surprise.

Could use a few more years in the bottle to mature, but already drinking very nicely now.

This Single Vineyard is a very hard one to come by. Thank you Kim and Barry for sharing this with me.

I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.

100% Merlot grapes were grown at 2,100 feet of elevation. Aged in French oak (60% new) barrels for 25 months. A small production of only 143 cases.

Delicious and tasty.

15.3% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

$215. — 6 years ago

Scott E. Becker

9.3

[Tasted on January 23, 2026 at Kayne Prime in Nashville with Jay]

Wine is Black List XXXII. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Blackberry and black currant fruit, with notes of cocoa, coffee and spice. Silky wine. — 5 months ago

Mike R

9.1

Surprising complex and interesting - still smiling — 5 years ago

Joshua Fisher

9.2

Anybody know that house in the background? — 5 years ago

Sam Hara

9.1

Too earthy for me to love it. Enjoyable nonetheless. — 6 years ago

with Rachel

Bruce Leboff

9.3

A beauty. Still young but well balanced. Nice citrus notes with the a hint of fresh green grass and honeysuckle on the nose. Well integrated and balanced with a long finish. A delight. Not bad from a GSB grad 👍🏻 . #moonetsai moonetsai.com — 6 years ago

with David

Shay A

9.5

Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.

It was my first time trying Moone-Tsai wines aside from their widely distributed Napa Valley Cab, so some of these were totally brand new to me. Melka is the winemaker.

This was my wine of the lineup for both now and possibly down the road. A great blend of the Howell (massive structure, chalky/dusty, big and ripe fruit) with the Cor Leonis (slightly savory, inky, herbal). This has velvet like tannins right now but they are really persistent. Plum, nutmeg, creme de cassis, heady display of the entire fruit spectrum (red, blue and black) jump from the glass. Slight addition of graphite, black licorice, and currant on the palate. Juicy, savory, decadent. Lots going on here. Very good. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.3

November’s 4th Friday was a big hit. There is no way I’ll be able to upload all the wines, nor give them the reviews they deserve, but there were a few worthy of mentioning!

Yes, I had to do a double take when I saw the vintage...2017! And it’s drinking like it’s open for business. Similar to the Moone-Tsai it was next to, but everything turned up to 11. Aromatics of triple fudge dipped blueberries and blackberries. Currant and Mexican vanilla too. On the palate, dense and rich. An absolute flavor bomb of baked plums, cinnamon, espresso beans and nutmeg. Maybe this is in a youthful just released phase before shutting down to gain some complexity... — 7 years ago

with joe and Weston

Alan Hyde

9.3

Rich mix of dark and red fruit plus nice vanilla finish. 2025 Christmas Eve dinner — 6 months ago

Somm David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Larry Tsai was nice enough to share this with the Moone Tsai picnic table luncheon after the Brasswood tasting. Delicious and look forward to tasting his 23.

Thick, round, lush, dark fruits with boldness softened.

It was the Cor Leonis Larry shared, not his Black Label. In haste, I grabbed the wrong label. — 10 months ago

Shay A

9.2

This was one of my wines from my annual WWC hosting. The other whites were Bereche Brut Reserve for the champagne, a 2015 Bongran EJ Thevent (burgundy) Chardonnay and a 2017 Moone-Tsai Ritchie Chardonnay.

Color me impressed. I have enjoyed Calera’s pinots quite a bit, but I haven’t had as much experience with the Chardonnay’s. It was almost like a Aubert Larry Hyde “lite”. As this was tasted blind, most guessed this was Chardonnay, but lots of back and forth on where it would be from. Initially, this toed the line between steely and slightly oaked with bright citrus, lemon, clean aromatics…but after an hour in the glass, this really bulked up and sported a down-the-middle type medium bodied profile. Not lean, not powerful. The tart lemon turned to a more lemon cream profile with lots of floral/honeysuckle notes, alongside herb crusted yellow fruits. No problem opening now, but I’d love to try another one of these in a few years. 92+ — 5 years ago

Stephen Pierron

10

100% Cab from Soda Canyon and Atlas Peak. Aged for 20 months in 42% New French Oak. Mild tannins and very European in style. Notes of sweet baking spices, tamarind, cedar, vanilla, and black fruit (Blackberries, Cherries, etc.). This one is right up there with Blacklist XIII, which was a 50/50 blend of Cab and Merlot, but very similar in style and structure. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.2

Finally getting around to posting wines from my annual Napa trip from two weeks ago. Always goes by quick! Lots of fun new stops this year.

It was my first time trying Moone-Tsai wines aside from their widely distributed Napa Valley Cab, so some of these were totally brand new to me. Melka is the winemaker.

Inaugural vintage for this wine. Fruit is coming from Petaluma Gap. This seems to have a Burgundian flair, but the fruit won’t allow it to go fully there. Fairly ripe black cherries, crunchy cranberries, underbrush, black tea and slightly green. Mellow on the palate with more tannin than acidity right now (which seems unique), and a definite dried floral, dried black fruit and herbal streak down the middle of the palate. Needs some time. — 6 years ago

Shay A

9.1

If you aren’t familiar with Brasswood, you should change that. A truly state of the art custom crush facility in St Helena (has housed clients like Bevan Cellars, Moone Tsai, Montagu, Modus Operandi, Dark Matter, etc), with tasting rooms, caves, a shop, bakery and a fantastic restaurant. On top of all that, they have their own label, which Angelina Mondavi consults on.

This is my first time trying their Chardonnay offering, courtesy of Brasswood’s Somm @Joshua Fisher . I was fortunate to follow this over the course of a few days. Day one had this showing very primary...down the middle type chard. Day two saw this increase in complexity...certainly true to Napa chard with a warm and soft profile, revealing lanolin, lemon cream, and even a cotton candy note on the nose. The palate has added notes of ripe melon, banana, and powdered sugar. Viscous but a line of acidity keeps this nervy. Thanks Josh. — 6 years ago